BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday stressed the need to accentuate the important status and uphold the due authority of the United Nations (UN).

"Facts have shown that the UN has withstood tests and has been instrumental," Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress.

"China believes that the more complex the problems, the greater the need to accentuate the important status of the UN; the more pressing the challenges, the greater the need to uphold the due authority of the UN," said Wang.

Noting that all countries want to prevent the world from returning to the law of the jungle, Wang said to this end, the first thing to do is to cement the cornerstone of sovereign equality, and those with stronger arms and bigger fists should not be allowed to call the shots.

Meanwhile, the principle of fairness and justice must be upheld, multilateralism must be observed, and the authority of the international rule of law must be strengthened, he said.

China is well aware of its international responsibility as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and it will firmly safeguard the central role of the UN, come forward to be a pillar of the multilateral system, and speak up for justice for the Global South, Wang said.

He added that China is ready to work with all sides to reflect on the founding vision of the UN, observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and build a more just and equitable global governance system.